


Strawberry Pips

by BlossomingDia



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Arguing, Best Friends, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Holding Hands, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jealousy, Lipstick & Lip Gloss, Love Confessions, M/M, Makeup, Pining Tsukishima Kei, Swearing, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Yachi Hitoka is a Good Friend, Yamaguchi Tadashi's Freckles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26222815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlossomingDia/pseuds/BlossomingDia
Summary: In which Yamaguchi finds a little confidence through makeup, and Tsukishima realises his feelings.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 143





	Strawberry Pips

“Hey Yachi! Have you done something different with your hair?”

“Uhm… not really?” The blonde girl responded, beginning to twiddle with the ends of her hair “Why do you ask?”

“Something about your face looks different today. But not like, bad different, like good different!” 

A little squeak came out of her as she hurried to cover her face, Hinata letting out a cry as he received a sharp jab to his side from Kageyama “Hinata! You cant just tell someone that their face looks different idiot!”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” 

The pair dissolved into an argument which was quickly tuned out as Tsukishima looked between Yachi and Yamaguchi who was speaking gentle words to coax her hands away from her face. When he managed to do so, he spent a few seconds inspecting her closely before snapping his fingers lightly “Are you wearing makeup?” Their team mates stopped fighting to lean into her face. A little cry of excitement bubbled out of Hinata as he pointed at the girl’s eyes with a look of triumph “See! That’s what I meant! She’s wearing mascara!”

“Ah, yes. Kiyoko gave me a few bits of make up as a gift when we went out together a few weeks ago… I wanted to be able to have the confidence to wear it but I didn’t think I would be able to jump right in with wearing everything so I decided to just start with a little bit of mascara. Does it look weird?”

“Nope!” The three of them chimed.

“It looks good on you Yachi.” Yamaguchi assured “your eyelashes look really long and beautiful. It really enhances your natural beauty!”

The girl broke out into a scarlet blush, stuttering denials for a few seconds before seeming to collect herself a little bit. “Say, Yamaguchi, do you want to try a little bit on?”

“Your mascara?”

“Yeah. I mean, you don’t have to of course, if you don’t want to that’s totally fine – in fact just forget I said anything-“

“Sure why not.” He shrugged “If it looks weird I can just go and wipe it off or something.”

Yachi gave a happy squeak before pulling her bag onto her lap; the mascara wand was produced quickly. As she stroked to wand carefully over his friend’s lashes, Kei found himself staring at Tadashi’s side profile. Every detail of his face was so familiar to him, and yet as he looked at it again it seemed like he was seeing it for the first time. Something stirred inside of him and hesitantly he reached out to explore it but was interrupted by Kageyama and Hinata before he could do so. “Yachi put some on me!”

It was easy enough for his mind to tune them out when they began their tirades, though he didn’t appreciate it when it began to wander, settling on Yamaguchi again. His eyes bore into his friend for a few minutes before Tadashi turned to look at him. “Does it look weird?” He questioned quietly, picking at the edges of his nails in a way that betrayed his nerves.

Nothing about it looked weird. In fact, Yamaguchi seemed to be attractive in a way he’d never really considered before; his eyes wide and doe like, looking shinier and more innocent as they stared up at Kei through their frames of thickened lashes. He forced himself to bit into a piece of his apple so that he’d stop staring “No. It’s looks good on you.”

“It really does Yamaguchi!” Yachi chimed in “I’ve got another tube of the same mascara that you can have if you think you might wanna try wearing it again.”

Tadashi stared at his reflection in the little mirror that she’d provided to him and broke out into a flush as he stared at the person staring back at him. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the alien creature staring back and felt his confidence rise a little “Yeah. I think that might be nice.”

The mascara become a part of their life so quickly that after the first few times of seeing it, Tsukishima was no longer surprised. What did surprise him was the trajectory that started from that simple tube of mascara. 

They’d arranged to meet at the movies once Saturday afternoon with the intention of watching the movie that they’d both been waiting months for. A horror flick which wouldn’t have usually been in their area of taste if not for the dinosaurs that had dominated all of the trailers and had piques their interest just enough to convince them to fork out the money to see it. Or possibly not see it, the blonde thought as he cast another annoyed glance down to his watch. Yamaguchi was already twenty minutes late for their designated meeting time, and with every second that dripped by Kei grew progressively more annoyed at the thought of missing the beginning of the movie due to his friend’s tardiness. Pulling out his phone, he began to search for Tadashi’s name amongst his contacts but stopped when he heard the sound of a familiar “Tsuki!”

His phone fell from his hand with a deafening clatter but he made no move to pick it up, instead choosing to continue to stare at Yamaguchi as he slowed to stop and bent over panting before him. “Sorry I’m late! Yachi stayed over last night and she insisted on picking out what I was going to wear-“ He cast a glance at his watch and let out a little groan “You go get the tickets and I’ll go to the food stand and get the snacks?”

Kei gave a little nod but made no effort to try to move, even when Tadashi turned and jogged away to the concessions stand throwing a little “Sweet popcorn and a large Pepsi right?”

“Yeah.”

With that, he headed to the counter to purchase the tickets then herded Yamaguchi through the halls until the found their screen. For the most part the movie was fine, nothing especially interesting despite the abundance of dinosaurs. Nothing particularly interesting when he could barely tear his eyes away from the bare expanses of Yamaguchi’s thighs that peaked out from the hem of the checked skirt he wore. His hand twitched in his lap as his mind raced with thoughts on putting his hand on that thigh to feel its warmth, or else taking the hand that rested on it into his own. A loud bang had the pair leaping from their seats, Tadashi turning from the screen instinctively to bury his face into Kei’s arm shielding his eyes from whatever was unfolding on screen. 

Even when the moment had passed, Tadashi continued to hold onto his arm.

“Ah, sorry Tsuki.” He chuckled sheepishly when they walked out at the end of the screening. 

“For what?”

A finger indicated to the shoulder of his jumper which sat stained black and brown and pink where his friend’s face had touched it. “It’s fine. It’ll come out when I wash it later.”

They walked in relative quiet for a while “The movie was kinda scary, huh?”

“Was it? I thought it was just kind of mediocre, just goes to show that movie critics just talk out of their asses and make money off duping people into watching garbage.” “I thought it was pretty scary! I almost jumped out my seat when the dinosaur burst into the kitchen –“ His expression shifted into something a little devious as he nudged the blondes shoulder with his own “You cant lie to me Tsuki, I felt your heart going crazy when I was holding onto you!”

“I wasn’t scared!”

“Sure sure! Don’t worry Tsuki, your secret’s safe with me!”

Kei gave a huff, though it was soft and fond sounding. Still, Yamguchi’s words continued to bother him even when he got home. Even when he lay in bed looking at the picture that the two of them had taken which had just popped up in his messages. His heart squeezed as he stared down into Yamaguchi’s pixelated face. A finger tracing over his smile as he tried logically analyse his feelings.

His heart had been beating really fast, or so Yamaguchi had told him. It wasn’t surprising when he considered the fact that he’d spent most of the time staring at his friend’s bare legs. Though was his reaction because Yamaguchi was dressed in a feminine way? Or-

Or was he in love with his friend? His traitorous brain questioned.

It was natural to jump to the conclusion that it was because of the way that Yamaguchi was dressed; Kei had only ever found himself attracted to girls in the past. But still, as he recounted the events that seemed to be happening more and more since Yachi had given him that damned tube of mascara, the conclusion seemed to be more and more clear. Fuck. FUCK. He was in love with Tadashi.

It was a big revelation. And a very frightening one. Yet Kei did nothing with it, choosing to sit on it quietly until he could decide a solid plan on what to do with the new information.

A round of appreciative whistles and whispers followed Yamaguchi as he entered the classroom one afternoon with Yachi in tow, and it took barely seconds for Tsukishima to figure out why. His mouth shined, pink and glossy, as he bid good morning to each one of their classmates. The gentle scent of strawberries wafted from his lips as he spoke. Though it was the sheer plumpness of those lips that seemed to have everyone, the other guys especially, taking notice of Yamaguchi. “Lip gloss?” He questioned as the pair flopped down into their seats and began unpacking their lunches.

“I ran out of lip gloss a couple of days ago so I went to get another, though I didn’t really read the packaging and ended up with this pink one that said it was a ‘plumping gloss’…”

“She said she was a little nervous to try it because she wasn’t sure what the difference was, so I offered to try it before she did so she knew what kind of effect it would have!” He paused to flash a bright smile to Yachi who offered a less sure one in return “What do you think Tsuki?”

The blonde chewed his mouthful of rice slowly. It was difficult to tear his eyes away from Tadashi’s lips when they were just so shiny in front of him. Like the strawberries that were served on top of the shortcake they always ordered. Absently he wondered if Tadashi’s lips would taste as sweet if he were to capture them and suck them into his own mouth to taste them. They’d certainly look like strawberries when he was done with them…

“Tsuki?”

He blinked quickly to draw himself back into the conversation, noting the mildly concerned faces of his friends “Yeah.” He coughed awkwardly “It looks good on you.” There was no time for them to feel the sting of slight awkwardness before they were interrupted by a quiet cough. One of their classmates stood shuffling nervously next to their desks, eyes shuffling between looking at Yamaguchi on the floor while his friend looked back with curiosity. “Hey, Yamaguchi…”

“Hey…?”

“You probably don’t know who I am-“

“You’re Maeda aren’t you? You sit behind Fukuda in the second row?”

“Yeah that’s me!” the boy’s face seemed to light up at his words, quickly fading into a blush as he summoned the courage to look up at Yamaguchi who seemed to be becoming steadily more confused “I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to get coffee with me after school today? I know a great little café that’s really comfortable and the service is great – plus they have these great little muffins-“ Maeda paled as he caught sight of Tsukishima’s irritated expression “Sorry I was rambling! So would you?”

“I-“

“You cant go today.” Kei found himself interrupting before his friend could speak “You said we could go and check out that new cake place that opened up.”

“But Tsuki-“

“We made these plans weeks ago, Yamaguchi.” 

The freckled boy let out a little sigh but nodded, turning back to Maeda with a little apologetic smile “It appears I’ve already got plans today.”

“Then another time perhaps…?”

“I’m free on Thursday at the end of the day if you’re available then?”

“Yeah! Yeah of course!” He reached into his bag and pulled out his phone, offering it up to Yamaguchi who punched his number in and gave a small smile then turned back to his lunch. The bite of chicken he was chewing suddenly seemed to sour, turning rubbery as he chewed and forced himself to swallow it. It would be fine, he assured himself, Yamaguchi was just friendly. There was nothing more to it.

The day of the date rolled around and at last, Yamguchi decided to take the plunge and wear a whole face of make up. It was also the day that Tsukishima finally snapped. He’d been out of the window for almost twenty minutes before he’d arrived, watching with quiet worry for the sign of anyone that could have been Tadashi running through the entryway below. A text the night before had told him to continue on to school without waiting for him, and despite his compliance Kei worried for the implications of the message. The freckled boy dashed into the classroom moments before the teacher arrived, shoving his wet bag down onto the floor and settling in. Naturally, Kei’s eyes gravitated towards him. Beginning at his arms and scanning gradually upwards looking for anything that might confirm his working theory that the younger was trying to hide bruises from him. Nothing seemed to be amiss. 

That was until he reached Yamaguchi’s face and stopped completely. The weight of his stare finally seemed to capture Yamaguchi’s attention as he turned slightly to whisper a quick “Good morning Tsuki!” before turning back to the front.

His observation bugged him all day but somehow the chance to bring it up to Yamaguchi seemed to evade him at every turn, leaving him to take emergency measures to understand the situation. “Yamaguchi.” He said. Yamaguchi looked up from where he was fishing around inside his bag offering him a little smile as he gave his full attention to the blonde. There was no use in sugar coating it he figured, taking a little breath then plunging straight into it “What happened to your face?” 

“What do you mean Tsuki?”

“Why are you wearing that?”

The words hung heavy between them, and for a split second Yamaguchi’s face seemed to twitch slightly contorting for a split second into something almost angry looking before settling into the most neutral expression he could muster. Still, Kei didn’t miss how his bottom lip shook slightly. “Well Maeda asked me to go out for coffee with him a few days ago and I had to reschedule, so we’re going today. I… though it might be a good change since we’re hanging out for the first time.”

A strange pressure started to build in Tsukishima’s temples, and it took a few seconds for him to realise that he was gritting his teeth with enough force to make his jaw ache. “I don’t think you should go out with him.”

“Why Tsuki?”

“I just think that he’s up to something. I don’t trust him.”

Yamaguchi simply blinked up at him for a few seconds before that strange expression returned again “Why’s that? Has he done something to make you think he’s not trustworthy?”

“No, but-“

“Or is it the fact that someone is interested in me for once instead of you? Is that why you don’t trust him?” The silence that lapsed between them was thick and stifling as Tsukishima searched his mind for anything to refute the claim. It was difficult to deny it when it was partially true – he didn’t give a damn if Maeda was interested in him or not, but the thought of him and Tadashi going out, getting closer, starting to date, made him want to throw up. His silence seemed to speak volumes for Tadashi though who’s face finally displayed all of the anger that he’d been trying to hide “Maybe I’m wrong, maybe the problem isn’t that he’s not interested in you. Maybe it’s because I want to look good for him? Or maybe its even worse than that! Is it because Maeda is a guy?”

“Don’t.” Kei’s voice was icy cold. He wasted no time in stepping forward into his friend’s personal space, crowding him back against the wall before leaning down until their faces were barely a breath apart. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds before Yamaguchi’s anger returned full force. 

“Well it’s gotta be something, you've been acting weird with me for weeks and I don't understand why! So unless you’re going to explain it to me, I’ve gotta go meet Maeda down at the main gate.” He attempted to slip out from under Tsukishima’s arm but was stopped when it caged him in even tighter. Their eyes held contact for a few seconds before Tsukishima finally took the plunge and leaned forwards. Tadashi’s lips were soft and supple but sat unresponsive under his own as he held them together for a few long seconds then retreated. Neither of them dared to breathe let alone speak for a minute. Though eventually Tadashi’s voice seemed to find him again, rising unsteadily from him “I – I don’t understand. Tsuki?”

Kei huffed a breathy laugh, letting his hand rise up to take Tadashi’s cheek brushing his fingers over the skin of his cheeks then giving a grimace as they pulled away caked in makeup. “I don’t trust him because I don’t think any guy that makes you feel like you need to cover up the most beautiful part of yourself is worth your time.”

His thumb didn’t strop its motion even when the make up was wiped away and his freckles finally sat exposed for everyone to see. 

“I don’t understand…”

“Let me put it more simply then. I like you Yamaguchi. All of you. I have for a while, and if you feel the same about me then I’m not going to let someone else snatch you up.” He fell quiet for a minute to allow the freckled boy to digest what he had said then lifted Tadashi’s chin so that their eyes could meet again “What do you say?”

He didn’t bother to resist when Yamaguchi leaned up and pushed their lips together again. Nor when his arms came up to wrap around his neck to pull him closer. When the school bell rang to signal for any remaining students to leave, Kei could only shrug his bag on before taking up Tadashi’s hand in his own, pressing a kiss to the freckled skin as he guided him home in the fading afternoon light.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Here's the second of this weeks seven fics. I hope you enjoyed something a little different compared to the usual pairings and fandoms, this was new for me too so I hope I didnt do too bad of a job with it. Tomorrow we'll be dipping into new territory again with a Danganronpa fic called 'Another Life', so i hope you'll check that out too!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and if you want to see more of my headcannons and random ideas (which will eventually branch out into Haikyuu as well) feel free to come and check me out over on twitter (@Endeavorsbitch). Thanks again and hopefully see you tomorrow!


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